


Love is Just one Word

by morebeesthanyoucouldimagine



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Parents, Alternate Universe - Space, M/M, Mercenaries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-09 14:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 3,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19477477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morebeesthanyoucouldimagine/pseuds/morebeesthanyoucouldimagine
Summary: A collection of one shot requests from tumblr. All I ask is for one word and the universe it takes place in. From parent au's to mercenaries, Eren and Levi's love stretches far beyond their canon lives.





	1. Tired. Canonverse.

“Eren.” Levi’s quiet voice was just barely enough to pull him back into the present. All other thoughts slowly melted away. All the other memories, plots, regrets, and desires still lingered somewhere in the back of his mind. Yet, it was Levi, who could keep them at bay.

“Sorry, Captain…” Eren’s voice trailed off as he looked around at his surroundings. He was in Levi’s office. He was safe. This wasn’t a jail cell, some Marley military base, or wherever else his thoughts took him to. He was home.

Levi shook his head, looking into Eren’s eyes. The young man looked even more tired than he did. Deep purple bags weighed down what were once brilliantly optimistic eyes. “You’ve been zoning out a lot lately.” His voice was tender, a side of him that only Eren got to see regularly. 

Eren reached his hand out. Levi took it wordlessly as he sat down next to him. “I just feel so _tired.”_


	2. Pet store (two words oops)

“Eren.” Levi did his best to contain his irritation. “We are not going in there.”

That damn cadet had the goddamn nerve to almost pout. “Sir, you said it yourself, there’s a rodent problem at the castle.”

“Which means we should be heading into the market to buy some traps.” He tried to tug Eren away from the inviting store front. 

“Or…” Eren dragged his feet. “We could buy a cat.”

Levi’s brows furrowed. “Absolutely not. We barely have enough provisions to feed ourselves even without the rats eating our shit. We don’t need to be feeding a cat.”

“Captain, the cat would feed itself! We bring the cat in, it eats the rats, we have more food. It’s that simple! In the trainee’s corps we had a few cats around to keep rats away from the food stores.” He persisted.

Levi stopped walking away (or attempting to) and let out an exaggerated sigh. He should have known Eren was too stubborn to let this one go. “Who’s going to clean up its shit or bathe it when it gets filthy?”

“Sir, I’m sure we could all pitch in. Besides, you say that as if Jean doesn’t leave grosser things on the floor.” He shuddered at the memories of the stiff socks they would occasionally find in the laundry.

“Fine.” The Captain pulled out a small, meager bag of coins. “Buy the damn cat and bring back any spare change.”

Eren could barely contain a happy gasp as he took the bag before Levi changed his mind. “Do you want to come in with me?” 

Levi rubbed his temples. He didn’t have time for this. Yet, he couldn’t look into those eyes and say no. “I’ll come with you just to make sure you don’t buy more than you need to.”

Eren said thank you after thank you as they finally stepped into the pet store. Considering the fact that this district wasn’t extravagantly wealthy, it was safe to assume that the pets inside were bred for hunting or protection. Having a pet solely for companionship was a luxury. 

He could feel his heart tighten at the sight of terrier puppies playing with each other. In time, they’d grow up into dogs capable of sniffing out the smallest vermin. Maybe after the war, Eren could adopt a dog to take care of.

Levi had already drifted towards the cat section by the time Eren had stopped petting the dogs. His tender smile did not go unnoticed as he crouched down to get a better look.

Any one who had spent a day with Levi was already well aware of his soft spot for animals, but Eren’s heart still sputtered at how genuinely at peace Levi seemed to be there.

“We need to be leaving in an hour, Eren. Just come pick one out.” Levi said as if he didn’t look like he was on the verge of adopting them all. 

The choice was easy for him. The small black cat with little white socks and ears. He was perfect. “Captain.” He said with a smile as he gently picked up the cat, careful to support it properly.

“What?”

“No,” Eren paused, looking into the cat’s blue eyes. “That’s his name.”

Levi handed the appropriate amount of coins over to the shop keeper. “Don’t you think that’s going to be confusing?”

“Probably, but it suits him.” He said, adoring how the cat’s whiskers twitched.

Levi maintained a stoic expression even though his heart wavered. Eren didn’t even realize what he was saying.

“Lets just get him back to base before the vermin eat our dinner.”


	3. Scared. Modern

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, Eren.” Levi said, reaching for the remote to pause the movie.

“I’m fine.” Eren insisted, as if his eyes weren’t covered completely and he wasn’t latched onto his boyfriend for dear life.

Levi sighed and left the remote alone, returning to rest fully against the couch. “You know, I’ve seen this movie nearly twenty times by now. I could just warn you when something’s coming.”

Eren bit his lip, lifting the blanket away from his eyes as he looked at the screen. “Yeah, I would like that.”

“Okay. So that guy’s gonna have a baby alien pop out of his chest in like half a minute.” Levi said completely unfazed.

Eren looked up at his boyfriend appalled before ducking back under the blanket. “I change my mind, I don’t wanna watch this.”

Levi let out a low chuckle before leaning forward to grab the remote, quickly turning the television off. “Do you want to watch a shitty romcom?”

Eren’s messy brown hair peaked up through the blanket as Eren finally emerged. “What did you have in mind?


	4. Party; Medieval A/B/O AU

Great. This party was just what Levi didn’t need.

He didn’t fucking want pompous alpha bastards coming up to kiss his hand. He didn’t fucking need to be introduced to more potential suitors. There was nothing Levi wanted more than to escape to the garden. He needed fresh air after being exposed to a ballroom packed to the brim with hormones and pheromones.

“You’re getting older, Levi.” His mother would remind him. “You’ll need to find your alpha soon.”

He didn’t want to let her down, but there was no way in hell that he was just going to let some stranger whisk him off his feet away to some random ass kingdom.

Levi hated being royalty. As a peasant, he probably could have gotten away with choosing a mate later in life, or maybe not even choosing one at all.

That’s not to say that Levi wanted to be alone.

There were certainly times where he would crave the attention of someone else, but he prided himself too much to just pick anyone who came his way.

As soon as the first round of dancing was over, Levi quickly fled the ballroom. They would all notice him missing soon enough, but even a moment of freedom was worth it.

Levi nearly tripped on his shitty ceremonial outfit, designating him as an unmated omega. God, if only he could just rip it off of him with his bear hands. Yet, he didn’t. Instead, he focused on getting out of there rather than making a scene.

The moment fresh air was in his lungs was the moment Levi felt like he could truly think. He could tell there was someone else there in the garden, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

Levi’s eyes slipped shut as he walked along the path near the rose bushes. The only sounds that accompanied him were his own footsteps and the gushing of the fountain in the center of the garden.

If some shitty alpha was going to bring him home, he hoped there would be some place like this that would soothe and ground him.

As the second round of dancing began, Levi could hear the music through the old stone walls. He loved to dance, he just couldn’t stand bouncing from partner to partner, from sweaty hands to vile breath.

He felt the music flow through him as his feet and arms moved in unison, gracefully waltzing along the stone path by himself. Levi let his eyes open, staring at the full moon above. Each of the brilliant stars in the sky seemed to be shining just a bit brighter that evening, as if they were promising him something.

Levi’s body stilled as the song ended. His eyes drifted towards his favorite place to sit in the garden, shocked to find someone already sitting there. Wide green eyes stared back at him, tension building between them.

“Sorry for staring,” he eventually apologized. “I didn’t want to disturb your dancing, you looked….” magical? ethereal? divine? Not a single word came to the alphas lips. Instead, he looked shockingly bashful as he stood up from the bench.

As the next song started playing, he offered his hand out to Levi. “Can I join you this time?”

Levi’s stoic expression faltered as his mind took in the sight of the man. Yes, he would do. Levi thought to himself.


	5. Knives. Space AU

In an age of plasma rifles and sonic snipers, knives were considered to be an outdated weapon. Yet, there wasn’t anything Levi trusted more. Plasma was expensive. Sonics lost their charge quickly. But knives? You could always depend on knives.

The Corps found his weapon preference odd, yes, but the results were more than enough to turn a blind eye.

“Would you teach me?” Eren asked his Captain. “Teach me how to use a knife?”

It wasn’t the first time he had asked, but it was the first time Levi actually considered saying yes. Every other time had been during training or in a battle. He wasn’t keen on having Eren practice with a vibroblade while in a suit. The kid had no desire for self-preservation, but that didn’t mean Levi was going to assist him in getting killed.

But now, Eren sat before him in his quarters. He was wearing his uniform, but the room was stabilized. Oxygen flowed freely here. The worst thing that could happen is he would have to be sent down the hall to the med bay and get a healthy dose of med gel.

“If you get hurt, it’s not my fault.” Levi said, cautiously handing the blade over to the younger man. Anyone else may have assumed his tone was dismissive, but all Eren heard was a warning.

“I won’t,” Eren said, admiring the blade. It’s spotless and untarnished surface betrayed its true age. Levi had it long before he joined the corps, and who knew where it came from before Levi had it?

The twin blades were lethally sharp, with just barely enough space between them. When thrust with enough force, the blades would vibrate together, making it capable of cutting through an exo suit.

Eren had seen Levi take down titans with this, and yet, in his own hands it seemed harmless.

He stood, still turning the knife over and over in his hands, admiring how well Levi maintained it. When he was done, he held it comfortably in one hand and pointed towards Levi.

His Captain quickly lurched to the right. “Don’t point that at something you don’t intend to hurt,” he hissed. “You’re holding it wrong too.” Eren allowed Levi to readjust his fingers into a slightly uncomfortable, yet stable position. “You can control the blade like this. If you held it the other way, you would just be thrusting erratically.”

Eren stayed quiet and nodded. As Levi began their lesson, he tried desperately to pay attention to what Levi was saying, but his eyes kept landing on Levi’s lips rather than his target.


	6. Shrinky-Dinks; modern, parent AU

“What are we doing again, dad?” Isabel asked, holding the box of shrinky-dinks.

Eren put her glass of juice down in front of her, before ruffling her read hair. “It’s raining out so we’re doing arts n’ crafts today instead of going to the park.”

“The last thing we need is for you two to track mud all over the house again.” Levi said as he finished setting up the newspapers all over the table. It took hours to clean the table after last week’s finger painting session. Levi wasn’t going to go through that again. “Besides, this way you’ll have something to keep with you.”

Isabel looked at the box in suspicion. “What are they though?”

“You can make almost anything you want, dear.” Eren took the box from her to help her open it. “You could make jewelry, key chains, a Christmas ornament, or anything you can imagine.”

Levi was hesitant to set out permanent markers for her to use. The last time she got a hold of them they had to repaint the entire living room. “All you have to do is draw on the plastic and then we’ll put it in the oven for it to set up.”

Isabel held one of the precut charms up to the light, even more curious about it. She let out a long hum before grabbing a handful of markers. “I’m making a unicorn.” She smiled, showing off her missing front tooth.

Levi sat down next to his husband, watching their daughter happily doodle away. Even though Izzy was only six, Levi was certain that unicorn looked far better than anything he could have made.

When she was done, she put all of the markers down and handed it over to Levi. “Papa, look! Look!”

Eren leaned against him, getting a better view so they could both admire the misshapen horse. It was perfect. “It’s wonderful, Izzy.”

“How about you and I get ready to put it in the oven while Papa cleans up?” Eren asked, gently taking the large charm out of Levi’s hands.

Thankfully, the clean up was much, much less intense than last week’s art project. All Levi did was check to make sure the markers had all their caps on before he joined them in the kitchen.

“What’s gonna happen in there?” She asked, a little nervous to close the oven door.

“Well, it’s going to shrink into a charm!” Eren smiled. “That’s why they call them shrinky-dinks.”

Isabel pouted a bit. “I don’t want it to get small.”

Eren let out a chuckle and put his arm around his husband. “Izzy, the best things come in small packages.”

Levi pretended not to hear that as he crouched down to his daughter’s level. “It’s too big to put on a bracelet. It won’t shrink too much, I promise.”

Izzy hummed before looking convinced. She closed the oven door and watched as the magic happened.


	7. Akoiromantic

Eren was absolutely stunning. He was like sunshine personified. Radiant, glorious, but in the wrong conditions he was vicious and hotheaded.

Levi was always attracted to idiots like him.

He knew his staring was obvious, but it still came as a surprise when Hanji confronted him about his feelings. The moment they told him to just go ask Eren out, Levi’s heart… well… he didn’t know how to describe what it felt.

The moment he actually thought about genuinely dating him, he just felt different. He still liked Eren quite a bit, but the idea of being with him just didn’t appeal.

It was probably better that way, anyways. It allowed him to just watch Eren fondly throughout the years without any worry of actually confessing to him.


	8. Coffee /modern Au :)

“Hanji, no.” Levi dragged his feet as his friend tried to pull him across the block.

“I know, I know, you hate coffee.” They rolled their eyes. “Just come with me for the love of god.”

Levi’s glare grew darker. “I can’t even stand the smell of it. If I go in there I will puke.”

“I think you’d regret doing that,” they chuckled as they threw the door open.

The brash entrance startled the shit out of most of the costumers inside. Some cast glares their way, others simply returned back to whatever they where doing before. God, Levi envied them. There was nothing he’d rather be doing than getting back to work.

“Eren,” they called out as Levi finally looked up at the counter, “I’ll be having my usual. And he…” Hanji paused, gesturing to her short companion, “will be having a ‘barista’s choice’.”

Eren simply nodded and got back to making drinks. His quiet demeanor claimed he was working hard, yet the constant glances he was throwing his way said otherwise.

“What the hell is a ‘barista’s choice’?” Levi hissed under his breath as they sat in a surprisingly comfortable booth.

“Oh, that means that Eren’s just gonna make whatever. It’s gonna be a surprise!”

If Hanji wasn’t his best fucking friend, he’d strangle them right then and there. “Why on earth would I want that?”

“Because I trust Eren to figure out something you’d like.”

“He doesn’t even know me, and-” Levi’s voice was cut off as Eren approached with a small tray.

“A grande, quad, nonfat, one-pump, no-whip, mocha for Hanji.” He said, placing a disgustingly large cup of coffee in front of them. “And a lavender, earl grey for…”

Levi’s eyes were wide, or at least wide in comparison to how they usually were, as Eren put the small porcelain cup in front of him. It took a sharp kick from Hanji to bring him back to reality. “Levi. My name is Levi.”

A small smile stretched across the barista’s face. “and a lavender, earl grey for Levi,” he said.

Before he could turn to leave, Hanji grabbed his attention. “And could you bring us the check? Levi will be paying.” They said with a peculiar wink.

Levi didn’t even notice the flush on Eren’s cheeks as he hurried off. “You drag my ass out here to pay for your drink?”

“Oh come on, Levi. You needed the fresh air. And besides, I didn’t do that solely to mooch off of you.”

Levi could only huff before taking a sip of his tea. It was actually pretty damn good. It needed some work, but it was far better than anything he’d get while eating out.

Eren came back with the check soon enough, sliding it towards Levi wordlessly before hurrying back to the kitchen.

Levi nearly spat out the tea he was savoring when he saw Eren’s number scribbled on the bottom of the receipt.


	9. moon (mercenary au?) :D

Loving a mercenary was hard. 

You could hope and pray that you got assigned to the same job, but those magical moments were few and far between. 

With Levi all the way in Japan for a job and Eren being stuck in California, they could only pray the other would come back home safe. Eren hated being too far from Levi. He had nearly lost him before, he couldn’t go through that again. 

Sleep evaded him for the third night in a row. Levi hadn’t been able to contact him again, which wasn’t surprising. Even something as simple as checking his email could have gotten him exposed and potentially killed. 

Eren knew he needed to be patient. Levi was supposed to come home in a week. He was _going_ to come home in a week. And Eren would be waiting for him, provided that he also wasn’t assigned to a new mission.

One of them really needed to retire or something. The amount of overlap between their missions was getting infuriating. They hadn’t been able to spend more than a week together at a time in two years. 

Levi claimed it made their hearts grow fonder, Eren feared it made their hearts grow forgetful. 

As the night threatened dawn, Eren stepped out onto their balcony. The noise of the city below him melded into a background static, providing his mind some clarity. When he first moved in with Levi he had hated the constant honking and yelling. Now, it seemed to be a part of their shared life together.

The humming of his phone on the nightstand shocked him. It wasn’t his civilian phone, but the burner phone provided by the scouts. Eren’s eyes fell as he let out a sigh. It seemed that he wasn’t going to be there to welcome Levi home after all.

As Eren picked the phone up, his mind readied itself for a new mission briefing. He expected to hear ‘the Commander’s’ voice on the other end. Yet, there was only static before the gentle voice of ‘the Captain’ cut in. 

“I finished the job in record time.” Levi said, his voice warbled by the low quality, disposable phone.

“You always do.” Eren smiled, feeling relief surge through him. Eren could almost hear Levi say ‘I love you’, but these phones really weren’t made for such long distances. 

When Levi’s voice did manage to cut in, he simply asked Eren to look at the moon with him. Even across an ocean, they were still able to look at the same celestial body and know that their loved one wasn’t all too far in the grand scheme of things. 

Levi was coming home.


	10. For the au request "office". Thank you in advance

How did Levi end up here? How did twenty years as a thug end up with him being stuck in a stuffy office full of insufferable coworkers? He used to wield knives in alley ways, now he’s holding an expense report.

Wonderful.

Levi didn’t miss his previous “job”, but it was certainly an odd transition. At least in the slums of the city he knew that he was actually getting something done, no matter how illicit his feats were. Here he was pushing buttons and filing papers. For what? What was the end goal?

How did that pompous blonde bastard even manage to talk him into this?

Yet, as hollow as this work left him, Levi couldn’t deny that the safeness of it was refreshing. Sure, he was jumpy in the break room for the first week, expecting his coworkers to try something. Yet, none of them wanted anything from him, save for a little bit of small talk here and there.

Thoughts of quitting came to mind during the early evening, when his energy was gone and he just wanted to go home. The salary was hardly anything to brag about, but the hours were ruthless. Erwin told him they were standard, but Levi preferred the “work when you want to” feel of being a punk on the street. 

It wasn’t until they brought in a new receptionist that he actually felt like sticking around for more than a few months. 

The younger man was inexperienced, but eager to learn. He was social, agreeable, friendly, everything that Levi wasn’t. His bright eyes always seemed to pierce through the walls Levi had set up, allowing the man to weasel his way into Levi’s heart. What a bastard.

Maybe Levi wouldn’t be quitting after all.


	11. Devotion. Canonverse!

People died often. 

Levi should have taken the time to learn and cope. Yet, each time he saw a soldier fall on the field his heart was torn asunder again and again. 

All he could hope was that this would all be worth it in the end.

While every moment he spent with his comrades could have been their last, one in particular seemed to refuse death wherever it followed him. 

Eren Yeager was too damn stubborn to die.

Levi was still afraid of losing him, of course, but he found his heart mending itself in his company. There was always something about him.

At first, Levi told himself that his head has hazy with thought of him because protecting Eren was his main objective. But that lie slowly slipped away as Levi acknowledged that it was because Eren was simply an inspiring person. The relevation of Levi’s devotion followed closely after. 

Maybe falling in love with someone who’s wounds could never kill him wasn’t the worst idea he’d had in a long time. 

He could only pray to the walls that falling hopelessly in love with a titan shifter wasn’t the final nail in his own coffin.

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is morebeesthanyoucouldimagine! feel free to send in a request!


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